What are the differences between the American Heart Association Diet, the Step I and Step II Diets?
The initial dietary recommendations for patients on Step I are similar to those the American Heart Association advocates for the public. The only difference is that Step I is carried out in a medical setting. For those patients who haven’t reduced their fat and cholesterol intake before treatment, Step I is a starting point. For those already at the Step I goals, the Step II diet goals are even lower for saturated fat and cholesterol. Also, patients with a high-risk cholesterol level (240 mg/dL and higher) or who’ve had a heart attack should start with the Step II diet goals. These dietary changes should be carried out along with regular physical activity in all patients and weight reduction in those who are overweight. We updated our dietary guidelines in October 2000 and dropped the “Step I” and “Step II” designations. However, the revised guidelines retain the principles of the Step I and Step II diets. They put more emphasis on foods than on percentages of food components, such as
